The author is a retired air vice marshal and a former ambassador of Pakistan
I must admit I am not too fond of the bureaucracy. I do not know who is. Do not get me wrong, I am frequently impressed with their intellect, grooming, promise and potential; it is in their very distant and deliberately cultivated perch that they exhibit on matters all important that a cold remoteness and insufficient empathy may begin to become obvious. You see, I was exposed to this bureaucratic trait quite intimately and did not come out singing praises. They remain the all important cog, though, that keeps the machine of governance going — no doubt about that — but then that is all there is to their role. Take the cog out and the machine stops, put it back in and it is running again. The more crucial refrain though is, what is the machine producing? On that, the bureaucrats want to have no truck with. Someone else must push in material and get a product that they need. Else, the ....... Read More

The author is a  a lawyer based in Islamabad.
One of our most persistent national myths — put forward by both the state and its detractors — is that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam.
It is said that Pakistan was created with the use of the slogans “Islam in danger” and “Pakistan ka matlab kya, La illaha ilallah”, both slogans which — ironically — were never used by Quaid-e-Azam himself. Indeed Jinnah ruled out “Pakistan ka matlab kiya, La illaha illallah” when he censured a Leaguer at the last session of the All India Muslim League after partition in these words: “Neither I nor the Muslim League Working Committee ever passed a resolution — Pakistan ka matlab kiya — you may have used it to catch a few votes.”

Nevertheless, the fact that Pakistan was created as a result of a group’s nationalism, which was based — in whatever watered down form — on common religious beliefs, has damned Pakistan to a perpetual i....... Read More

NEW DELHI: While the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh begins his Srinagar visit on Monday, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) submitted to him an unflattering report on the progress of a Rs 240 billion reconstruction plan the PM announced six years ago to fast-track development in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK).

The report on gross delays on part of the state government in implementing projects under the PM’s plan has been prepared by the Delivery Monitoring Unit (DMU).

The unit was set up in the PMO under the PM’s Principal Secretary TKA Nair to keep track of the United Progressive Alliance government’s flagship programmes.

Completion: The report said that only half of the 67 projects that Singh sanctioned during his two-day trip to Srinagar in November 2004 have so far been completed.

These include the expansion of the economic infrastructure to provide basic services and enhance local employment opportunities for victims of militancy and families up....... Read More

GILGIT, June 5: A group of people from Gojal Tehsil of Hunza-Nagar District staged a sit-in at the helipad here on Saturday after the authorities refused to airlift them to their native town as they were stuck up in the city for the last seven days.

Barkatullah Baig, a resident of Sost, told Dawn that he was visiting the helipad for the last seven days but unable to be get a chance to be airlifted to his native town.

Another person from the same locality told this correspondent that earlier they complained about the attitude of the military personnel deputed at helipad but no one was ready to pay heed to their grievances.

Iman Ali, a student at National University of Modern Languages (NUML) of Islamabad said that he was struggling for the last five days to get a seat on the helicopter but could not do so.

He said that he had become out of cash as he had already spent whatever he had in hotel and now facing a great hardship.

An old man alleged that he ....... Read More

By Tariq Naqash in Dawn

Muzaffarabad,e 5: An official body dealing with the reconstruction of Muzaffarabad has taken exception to the alleged dumping of earth into River Neelum by a Chinese construction company, something which is being committed with impunity by many other contractors for long notwithstanding its hazardous impact on environment on the one hand and life of Mangla Dam on the other.

When contacted by Dawn on Wednesday, Brig (retired) Shiraz Baig, project director of Muzaffarabad City Development Project (MCDP), confirmed that he had sought explanation from the China International Water and Electric Corporation through a letter after receiving reports to this effect from some quarters.

“They have, however, denied the charge saying since they maintain record of (the movement of) all of their dumper trucks no such infringement has been committed by them,” he said.

However, an official of the AJK Environment P....... Read More

The writer is regional coordinator of ICIMOD, Islamabad.
A study conducted by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) revealed that there are some 5,218 glaciers (15,040 km/sq area) and around 2,420 glacial lakes in Pakistan. Of these, 52 lakes are dangerous with a potential to outburst thus causing flash floods. According to the ICIMOD report: “These lakes are potentially unstable because their end moraines are composed of unsorted and unconsolidated boulders, gravels, sands and clays. Furthermore, they are frequently reinforced by frozen cores (permafrost) that, like the glaciers themselves, are now beginning to melt. As the volume of a lake accumulating behind an end moraine increases, the hydrostatic pressure builds up to put additional stress on the moraine dam causing it to become more unstable. Eventually it may fail and release much or all of the lake water.”

The report goes on to say: “Depending on t....... Read More

The Nation, May 20
PERHAPS nothing more shows the present government’s detachment from its basic duties as much as the existence of a Geological Survey of Pakistan Report predicting not just the avalanche due to rock sliding, but also that it would lead to flooding. The Report was submitted to the government in September 2009, and included a number of recommendations on what needed to be done to contain the damage, but they were not followed, and the Kashmir Affairs Minister has only now announced relief measures.
The Minister, at a press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, disclosed that 13,000 people would be displaced, and arrangements for their rehabilitation were being made. He also said that there would be seven helicopters on standby. The neglect of the Report is particularly incomprehensible when it is kept in mind that the affected area, Gilgit-Baltistan, formerly the Northern Areas, has always elected PPP governments, one of which is presently i....... Read More

The Dawn, May 20
ALPURI, May 19: The district administration has chalked out an evacuation plan by dividing Shangla into three zones to cope with any situation in the wake of possible breach in the Hunza artificial lake.
The decision was taken at a meeting held here on Wednesday under DCO Syed Altaf Hussain. District planning officer Nasir Ahmed, who was appointed as focal person, briefed the meeting about the possible damages if the lake developed breach.
Talking to journalists after the meeting, Mr Ahmed said a comprehensive plan had been prepared to meet the challenges.
He said each zone would be supervised by a special committee, which would comprise tehsildar, SHO, DSP and ADO (education) concerned.
He said it was estimated that 3,230 families comprising 24,146 individuals would be affected in the district by the lake breach, adding 57 government buildings, 45 seminaries and mosques, 2,460 shops, seven hotels, one bank and three poult....... Read More

ISLAMABAD, May 18: Thirty-six vulnerable villages have been evacuated as level of water in a lake formed by a landslide in Hunza early this year almost touched the spillway carved out by the Frontier Works Organisation.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Minister Manzoor Wattoo said that water was expected to start flowing out of the spillway in five to six days.
He said that army personnel deployed in Hunza, Gilgit and Chillas were assisting the civil administration and seven helicopters were on standby to cope with any emergency. Mr Wattoo said that about 13,000 people would be affected by an upsurge in the lake and base camps had been set up for them.
He said that a 22km portion of the Karakoram highway had been washed away, affecting trade between Pakistan and China.
He said it was not possible to immediately repair the highway, but temporary arrangements would be made to keep the critical route intact.
....... Read More

HUNZA, May 18: Fresh landslides in Attabad on Tuesday triggered alarm of the burst of Hunza lake. The lake was formed due to blockage of Hunza River by massive landslide at Attabad on Jan 4.

The district administration has deployed police at the lake site to restrict movement of people. According to latest reports, the lake water is to overflow about 17 feet of the debris. The increase in the level of water submerged more houses and shops in Gulmit and Shishkat villages, a suspension bridge in Hussani.

Meanwhile hundreds of people are stranded in Aliabad and Gulmit due to suspension of the boat service due to rains and fresh landslide. The boats are the only means of transportation as the lake has submerged more than 20 kilometres of the strategic Karakoram Highway.

The people have demanded of the government to resume the boat service or provide helicopter service to ease their plight. The district administration of Hunza-Nagar and Gilgit districts have directed th....... Read More